Ideas and inspiration for a great (or Really Good) hen do

Category Archives: Hints and Tips

I had the honour of organising my best mate Kate’s hen do a couple of weeks ago, and as part of it I arranged a Bucking Bronco.

I will write the whole weekend up in more detail in a ‘Hen Do That Happened ’ post, but thought it would be useful advice for people organising a hen do to know what happened on our weekend.

I’d hired a massive house with huge grounds and thought a bucking bronco would be fun. If you don’t know what a bucking bronco is, here we all are on it:

Group shot on the Bronco (before it all went wrong)

Everything was fine until Kate’s third go. When she was thrown off she landed awkwardly on her neck, leading to a lot of pain, blurred/fuzzy vision and she was seeing stars. We rang 111 and described her symptoms, and before we knew it this was happening:

The lady we spoke to on the phone had sent an ambulance as a precaution

All of Kate’s vitals were tested and fine, but her eyesight wasn’t really improving. The paramedics said that although they thought she’d be fine, they would take her to hospital if she wanted.

She obviously didn’t want that, and luckily a couple of hours after the accident she felt well enough for a Gin and Tonic, and hen do fun was able to resume as normal! (Phew!)

Whilst we cancelled our plans for a night out at an 80’s club in town, I had enough games planned to make sure we had an even better time staying in. There were Power Ballads, balloon stamping, shot push ups and naughty biscuits (which you can read all about in the Hen Do That Happened post when I get round to writing it).

Kate also had a massive bruise on her thigh (she bruises like a peach), so we made a list of all injuries sustained on the bronco. Everyone had at least one, with the worst ones including:

a massive gash on one Hen’s foot (which we asked the paramedics to check out whilst they were there)

10% loss (approximately) of one Hen’s body skin

a perforated boob and a torn shirt, where a badge the Hen was wearing was ripped off as she was thrown off

(One Hen also had a cut on her finger, but that was from slicing limes for the G&Ts).

It was pretty serious at the time, but it does make for a good story – how many other people can say they had to call an ambulance at their hen party – and I’m all about the stories!

My mate Nicki from university has set a date for her wedding. And you know what that means – HEN DO!

Nicki and I

And what a hen do it will be. She wanted to go to Glastonbury, and to Glastonbury we shall go. Eight of us were committed to going, and somehow all eight of us managed to get tickets.

We’re going to Glastonbury!

I am excited about the festival, but now I’m advancing in years, I’m not looking forward to the toilet situation.

I’m not looking forward to these…

I’m at that stage in life where I need to go for a wee in the middle of the night and I don’t want to have to put on wellies, crawl out of my tent, walk for a mile and half (in the pouring rain more than likely) and queue up with 3000 other people who also need a wee.

So we’re hiring a motor home! We’ll be dry, warm and have access to our own personal toilet!

Nicki and I (and friends) on a previous Motorhome adventure in Sweden.

I’m not going to lie, it’s going to be an expensive week, but it’ll be worth it.

As I am now going to my first Hendoval? Festido? I thought I’d do a top 6 things to be aware of if you’re thinking of going to a festival for a hen do:

Festivals are expensive. Not just the tickets, but also getting there, food and drink and camping equipment. Be aware that some of the people you really want to be there might not be able to afford it.

On the flip side, you won’t be able to stop people you don’t want to be there from coming! Is your cousin Florence a nightmare drunk? Does Louise from work have hygiene problems? Is your neighbour Susan a little too flirty with your husband-to-be? If it’s V Festival or Leeds etc. where it is easier to get tickets, they can just buy their own and rock up and camp with you!

For those that can afford it, be aware you might not all get tickets. This was a very real fear for Glastonbury, and we’re not entirely sure how we managed it.

There is a very good chance it might rain! Which is not fun. If this is going to really bother you, I’d suggest thinking international! At Sonar festival in Barcelona, you can stay in a hotel. Benicassim Festival (also in Spain) is on a beach. Whoop! (Although my friends went one year and it was so windy their tent blew away…)

You’ll have to pack wisely. It will be difficult taking in 75 individual vodka jelly shots for the forfeits. And we’re going to have to think cleverly about how we’ll fit in the banana suit, the hamburger suit, the chicken suit, the baby outfit and the mankini. Although a mankini doesn’t take up much space…..

The festival might not be near the wedding date. Nicki’s wedding is actually in December. This isn’t a problem at all though, it just means we get to have two hen dos!!

As I have no experience yet of attending a hen do at a festival (Hendoval? Festido?), I will leave this here and report back in July next year. I can then cover all the things we loved/forgot/wish we’d taken/did work/didn’t work etc. In the meantime, let me know if you have any top tips for hen dos at a festival.

Finally, I found out last week I am going to be Nicki’s bridesmaid. I am very honoured, and very excited indeed, and will now make sure this is the best hen do she can possibly have. (It would’ve just been ok before….)